When He Returns
by SilverWing108
Summary: Sasuke returns to Konoha after a few years to find that Naruto has become Hokage, and he returns with feelings to be confessed. SasuNaru. Maybe other pairings, not decided yet.
1. He's Back

**Yeah this is actually the first fanfic I've ever written _**  
**Hope you like it**

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His ear twitched as he barely heard light footsteps getting closer and closer until they stopped on the other side of the heavy brown door of his office. After a few seconds of silence, there was a loud knocking on the door.

The blonde haired blue eyed man directed his gaze towards the door and cautiously invited his visitor into his office. Not many could mask their presence so well that he couldn't sense them. Most of them were dead. He had to rely on his enhanced sense of smell and hearing to know that his visitor was coming. "Come in," he said.

His paperwork was temporarily halted as he held his unwavering gaze with slight curiosity. It could be an enemy, an attacker. It could also be his top ANBUs, coming to report their mission and forgetting to release the pressure on their chakra that kept them hidden, though that rarely, if ever, happened. He held his guards up.

Cerulean eyes widened with shock as the door opened to reveal a strikingly handsome man six foot two inches tall. The man had messy black hair that strangely resembled a duck butt, his fringe at a centre parting hanging like feelers on either side of his pale face. He wore a white blouse that bore his chest with sleeves that ended in his mid-upper arm, and loose black pants that covered three quarters of his legs, with a tube-like purple belt tied in a knot as his hip and a sword in its sheath tucked into the belt. His feet wore samurai-like sandals. The man had blood red eyes, each with three tomoes spinning wildly around his pupil.

"Sasuke." the blonde growled out, waiting for confirmation, though he knew he clearly needed none. When no answer came, he felt a rush of anger slowly surge through him. The thoughts of 'He's back' and 'why is he here?' filled his mind.

The blonde removed the pyramid shaped hat with the kanji of the word 'fire' on it from his head, placing it on the table, beside the photo he considered so precious. The photo was of four people; his three men cell when he was younger, and his white-haired sensei behind them. He now had long, unkempt blond hair which he grew over the years. His cheeks adorned with three whisker-like scars each.

The blonde stood up so quickly that the chair he was previously sitting on toppled over. Keeping the intense eye contact, he strode over to the crimson-eyed man, causing his red and white robes, with the kanji of 'Hokage' sewn on it, to flutter.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands tightly into fists, before landing a punch on the other man's check, sending him flying and hitting the wall. The blonde subconsciously wondered why Sasuke didn't dodge it.

Even after the hit, Sasuke's face remained emotionless as though nothing had happened, even as a drop of blood trickled from his mouth down his chin, staining his pale skin.

"Bastard! Why are you here?!" The blonde had expected unexpected visitors, but he hadn't quite expected his ex-teammate, who refused so adamantly to come back with him, to return on his own. The blonde had his guards up. There was no reason for his ninja-turned-missing-nin ex-friend to come find him; unless he wanted to attack, or worse kill, the blonde. But part of him still wanted to keep his faith and hope that the missing-nin would decide to return to the village, Konohagakure, on his own will. To return to his friends, the now adult rookie nine, to return to Team 7, and to return to him. But as long as the sharingan user's intentions remained unknown or unconfirmed, then it is his duty as the Hokage of Konohagakure to keep his guards up.

Sasuke slowly got up from the floor, wiping the blood off with the back of his hand. Making eye-contact with cerulean eyes, his sharingan slowly faded out into onyx orbs, as the prideful man voiced out two words he let leave his lips not once before in the presence of others, "I'm sorry." The apology was voiced in a soft but clear voice, one that could not be missed.

The blonde was frozen at his spot, hands slowly unclenching, mouth slightly agape, eyes widened with shock. His blue eyes displayed many emotions, of which were hope, worry, anger, but mostly of shock and confusion. "Wha-? You…what?" the blonde stuttered. In all his years of living, the raven had been the most stuck up, arrogant prick he had ever met. And that was saying something. And yet that very same man was letting go of his pride and apologizing to him, something very rare and unseemly of ninjas from the prideful Uchiha clan.

Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh while running a hand through his hair, before repeating himself, this time louder and more impatient, "I said I'm sorry, Naruto."

The blonde, now known as Naruto, furrowed his brows together and asked, "Why?"

Silence.

After waiting a while for an answer that did not come, Naruto repeated his question, this time more specific. "Why are you apologizing?" _'__**For the past? Or for what's to come?'**_he mentally added.

As if reading Naruto's mind, he answered softly, almost in a whisper, "I'm sorry for everything I've done."

Naruto felt his anger rise again and tried to calm himself down and regain his composure by taking deep breaths. After his anger subsided a little, he stated calmly, "After all this time?" His anger rose again, but he couldn't be bothered to try to calm down. "After…after all this?" He half shouted, roughly pointing to the window of his office that granted a nice view of the whole of Konoha.

Sasuke's expression softened a little, as if showing guilt. The scene of Konoha depicted buildings still being restored and rebuilt, the mountain carvings of all the previous Hokages had been destroyed, and had to be re-carved. What could not be seen from the view of the window, were the numerous names added onto the gravestone, and the large increase in the number of orphans. Though it was mostly caused by the Fourth Shinobi World War, mainly Kabuto and Tobi.

Although Naruto was furious at Sasuke for being on the enemy's side during the war, he wasn't blaming him. The blonde was blaming himself more than anything or anyone. Blaming himself for not being able to protect and prevent all the lives that were lost from being lost, blaming himself for being incapable of keeping his promises; his promise to himself that he would protect Konoha, and his promise to Sakura that he would bring Sasuke back. He was happy that most of his friends managed to stay alive. At least he had kept his promise of not letting his friends die. The Rookie nine and Team Gai managed to stay alive, and now made up the strongest force of Konohagakure. All of them managed to make it into the A-ranks and S-ranks.

"Why now? Why after…all this?" Naruto asked in a slight accusing tone, with his hands waving around and gesturing randomly around him. Although he was happy that Sasuke had returned, he also felt the betrayal, and felt the need to know the reason. He wanted, no, needed to know. As the Hokage, he had to confirm Sasuke's intentions before deciding on what to do, so as to not endanger the safety of Konoha. Though deep down, he knew that he, himself, Naruto, friend of Sasuke, wanted to know the answer himself.

"I…" the raven sighed, "I don't know. I just…" he was unsure of what to say. He wanted Naruto to believe him, so he told the truth, no matter how weird it sounded. "It just…it became unbearable for me. After I killed him…after I killed Itachi and after I found out the truth…I was set on destroying Konoha." He stumbled backwards and leaned against the wall, before sliding downwards to sit on the floor. He stared down onto the ground.

"I believed…that it would, in a way, avenge Itachi. After all…" he sighed once again, now staring at his hands, before continuing, "I am an avenger. After finding out what they made Itachi do…after finding out that Itachi loved me too much to kill me…how could I not avenge him? I was driven by revenge and hatred for Konoha…and yet at the same time, I was slowly but surely…losing myself."

With arms crossed on his chest while leaning on the opposite wall, Naruto just stared at Sasuke, waiting patiently for him to continue. He knew it was selfish of him, but he still hoped Sasuke would want to return to the village.

"During the Fourth Shinobi World War, I had a talk with Itachi. It was then that I learnt his true intentions…that I knew he wouldn't have wanted me to be like this. But at that time…I couldn't afford to let it affect me. Being in the middle of the war…all I could do was to finish what I set out to do…to destroy Konoha.

But as time slowly passed…dreams of Itachi became dreams of the past. I had dreams of our missions together…dreams of our first C-ranked mission which turned out to be A-rank…dreams of the days spent training. The dreams made Itachi's words start to sink in. His speech of letting comrades make up for what you don't have, of accepting imperfection. Altogether, it slowly affected my ambition and drive. It was then that I realized that it wasn't the shinobi and citizens that I hate, they had nothing to do with it. My hate was directed at the elders of the village, the ones behind the massacre." At this point, Sasuke looked up and gazed into azure orbs, which widened slightly upon hearing that Sasuke didn't hate any of them all this time.

He continued, "I then came to a realization that the person who ordered the massacre was Danzo, and that I had already killed him. And then I thought, then what was all these years for, if the person I am supposed to take revenge against had already been killed by me? If I, an avenger, lost my hatred, what would become of me? At that time, I become lost. What would I do from then on? After a few days of thinking over those same questions, I then realized that the other elders also had part in it, that they were still alive. I knew it might just be an excuse, an escape from my lost situation, but it was still a reason. When I started heading out, to plan on how I would kill the elders, I heard news, that all the elders of the council were dead. All gone—replaced. For a moment, I almost went crazy. But after a period of time spent thinking over it, I decided to give up on revenge. If there were no one for me to take out my hatred on, then it was pointless. Then it was that time that I disappeared; that you stopped hearing news of me."

The raven then got up from the ground, making the blonde stand up straight instead of leaning against the wall. It's been seven years since Sasuke betrayed the Leaf, five years since the Akatsuki started attacking, four years since the war started, two years since the war ended and…

"Why after two years?"

Sasuke remained silent for a few seconds before sighing and continuing his story, "I wandered around after disappearing. Thinking about what I would do from then on. After giving up everything for the sake of avenging, and then giving up on revenge, I had nothing left. I travelling around here and there, thinking about what I was to do. After that particular realization, I started thinking more and more about Konoha. I missed Konoha, and yet it wasn't like I could just return to Konoha. I'm a missing-nin for God's sake. An S-class one at that. Furthermore, my pride wouldn't allow me to return just like that.

Every day, I wandered around, trained a little, and lived my life pointlessly. I kept myself updated on the bingo books and recent news and rumors of Konoha. It's not like I could ever return after I betrayed Konoha like that. It's not only just a matter of pride; I wouldn't think anyone would believe me even if I had returned."

At that moment, Naruto interrupted the story by shouting, "I would've! All this time I've been chasing you down! Even if Sakura's already gotten over you, I bet she would've too! I wouldn't have chased after you for so long if I didn't believe in you!"

Before Naruto could continue about who else would believe him, he interrupted, "That's why. After the hatred was gone, all I could think about was what if I had returned, what could happen. All I could think about was the fellow leaf shinobis, and you."

At this point, a very slight and almost unnoticeable blush graced Naruto's whiskered cheeks for a second before it was gone. What went through his mind was, 'He didn't mean it that way.'

Sasuke felt like smirking, but it wasn't appropriate at the time, so he continued as if he didn't notice the blush, "Because of all the thinking and missing, I unconsciously travelled too close to the Konoha borders for my liking. I started feeling like just walking in there and letting the Konoha-nin arrest me and bring me to the Hokage before I started explaining, just so I could return to Konoha again.

That was when I remembered ever hearing news that you become the Rokudaime Hokage. Then it struck me that you would believe me. I believed you would. And you, who somehow makes people believe you, could get them to believe me. And then if everything went well, I could live in Konoha again, no matter the terms and conditions."

"And after that is when you decide to barge right into my office?" the blonde questioned in faked anger, though he was really happy that Sasuke had believed him. Then his eyes widened as he hit a realization, "What about all those shinobi outside, the guards and everything?"

"I knocked them out cold with my sharingan. I wouldn't want to get caught before I could explain everything to you in private. Don't worry, I didn't kill them. There weren't much people out there anyways." This time, he couldn't hold back a smirk at how worried Naruto was of the other shinobis.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, before he walked to his chair, pick it up and sit back down since the serious talk was already over. "Why in private?" He casually asked as he rested his head on his palm, with his elbow resting on the table.

Sasuke then slowly stood up and looked directly into azure orbs and replied, "Because…well…I knew that I would have to be supervised after I returned so I had to say something to you without anyone listening in."

At this, Naruto tensed. Was it something really important and private to Sasuke to have only him hear?

"Well…Naruto…" he sighed and averted his eyes and turned his head to the side, "I think….I love you."

Naruto eyes were widened while his mouth opened and closed while his brain was searching for something to say. He was shocked speechless. Was this real? Or were his ears playing tricks on him? Then he saw Sasuke blushing till his ears were red, then he noticed that it was, indeed real, and that Sasuke really had confessed to him. He then blushed a shade of tomato red.

"Wha…I mean…Wait…Since when?" He fumbled for words to say.

Sasuke cleared his throat and forced his blush down before answering, "I don't know. I realized my feelings after all the hatred and drive for revenge was gone. And I somehow managed to have time to think about you with all the revenge going on in my head. With the avenger thing gone, you mainly dominated my mind."

Naruto sported a blush of an even darker shade of red. Now he questioned himself, does he love him back, or not? He was confused. Does he treat him as a best friend, or does he love him?

"You don't have to answer now. I'll wait till the end of my punishment, if I ever come out alive, that is." He eyes were filled with bits of sorrow and regret.

"You'll definitely get out of this alive Sasuke, believe it!" Naruto smiled cheekily, his previous embarrassment forgotten.

Sasuke smiled, before it turned into a smirk as he commented, "It looks like you finally achieved your dream of being Hokage," he hesitated a moment, after all, it had been years since he last used the nickname for the blonde. But he said it anyways, "Dobe."

"Wha-! Teme! I am totally capable!" Now his anger and embarrassment was mixed as he searched for a retort before taunting, "Ha! That was the longest speech I have ever heard you say! With what I remembered, all you ever said were at most one sentence long! Or full of insults!"

"It was necessary to clear up anything between us and to get you to trust me. I wouldn't want the person I love to hate me, now would I?" The raven smirked again, struggling not to smile. He was happy that his nickname of 'Teme' came out so easily, happy that things were more comfortable between them.

Naruto blushed again. But before he could retort, the door burst open.

"Hokage-sama!" a voice oh-so-familiar to the blonde shouted, with worry laced in his voice.

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**If there're any plotholes or mistakes, please leave a review and I'll try to correct them! :)**


	2. Informing Everyone

**Yay second chapter hope you enjoy ^^**

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Five ANBUs burst into the room, all wearing their masks. The five masks included a hawk, sloth, pig, porcupine and leopard. The first to enter the room was the Hawk, who was the captain of their ANBU squad, also the one to call out, followed by the leopard, porcupine, pig, and lastly the sloth.

There was a pin-drop silence that seemed to last an eternity, but in actuality, was only a few seconds.

The scene would actually seem hilarious if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation at hand.

Five people at the door, flustered, with masks on. A man sitting in the chair with his head resting on his palm, firstly shocked, then panicked. And lastly, another man standing comfortably, first seen smirking-almost smiling-then turning emotionless.

Sasuke was the one to break the silence, hissing out, "Hyuuga."

"Uchiha." The one known as Hyuuga, also the one wearing the Hawk mask, growled with contempt lacing his voice.

The Hyuuga and the Uchiha glared at each other, releasing their murderous intent. If the others in the room weren't top ANBUs and the Hokage, they would've at least cowered in fear from all the murderous intent released, even if it wasn't directed at them.

But no, they were the top ANBUs and the Hokage. So instead, the ANBUs were just standing aside in shock, and ready to fight against one of the most dangerous missing-nins in the shinobi world, while Naruto was racking his brains on how he would explain. He was never a smart one.

But when the blonde noticed all the tension in the room, he resorted to getting everyone to calm down and get their attention first, and think over what to do later. All this murderous intent wasn't good for anyone's health and no, it wasn't because he was intimidated.

So he sighed a soft sigh, almost like a slightly louder than normal release of breath, and then he slammed his hands onto the table, standing up in the process, while shouting, "Stop!"

Both Sasuke and Hawk seemed a little startled.

Naruto had the attention he wanted.

Hawk lowered his head and apologized to Naruto, "I apologize, Hokage-sama."

At that, Naruto let out a frustrated sigh, and said, "Enough with the formalities, Neji. You can report the mission later. As a friend first and foremost, I'd like to tell all of you- Neji, Tenten, Chouji, Ino, and Shikamaru-Sasuke Uchiha is back." Naruto then smiled that contagious trademark grin of his.

"What do you mean he's back?" Chouji demanded, while stepping forward and removing his mask.

The rest of them removed their masks after they recovered from their slight shock. Although ANBUs were to keep their identities a secret, whenever Naruto said 'as a friend', it was an indication for them to remove their masks and drop all formalities.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. "Are you sure he's not tricking you?" Direct as always. Shikamaru was never one to beat around the bush.

"I'm not asking you to trust him right away." Naruto stated while raising a hand to ask them to stop, cutting Ino off before she could say anything. Ino just huffed and crossed her arms, turning to look to the side.

"I'm calling a meeting. With all the clan heads. And after that all of Konoha." Naruto sighed, while rubbing his temples. It would be better to explain to everyone once and get done with it. "Neji. Help me call Iruka here will you?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Neji put on his mask before he disappeared.

"This is going to be a long day." Naruto muttered under his breath. But it would be well worth it if Sasuke could return to Konoha. He had to decide the punishment of Sasuke with the clan heads, and then inform Konoha of Sasuke's return. Indeed, today would be a long day.

Before long, Iruka entered the room. "Hokage-sama, you called?"

"Iruka. Stop that." Naruto whined. He hated it when Iruka started using formalities with him.

He chuckled. "Fine. What did you call me for?" He said, before looking at Sasuke and realizing the reason. He mouthed an 'ah'.

"I want you to gather all of Konoha. Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten, Chouji, and Neji," He called out to the four of them and Neji who just returned to the room. "Inform all the clan heads to be here within the next few minutes."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." They all put on their masks and left.

Shikamaru left with words something along the line of 'troublesome Hokage'.

Ino just turned tail and left.

Tenten bowed before poofing away, polite as usual.

Neji disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

And Chouji, well, he left through the front door as he came.

"Wouldn't it normally take at least a day before everyone can be gathered?" a voice that reminded Naruto that he wasn't alone in the room.

He blushed as he remembered what happened earlier on. But he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He had more pressing matters to think about now.

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, while grinning that infamous cheeky grin of his, said, "Well, I have a great secretary! Iruka gets things done real fast!" His smile died down a little, and he said in a soft voice, almost a whisper, "And well, there are much less shinobi to gather because of the war."

"I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize. What's done is done. The past is the past. And besides…you've already apologized, haven't you?" Naruto cut him off. He seemed to be cutting so many people off today.

Sasuke didn't say anything but his lips had a small unnoticeable twitch upwards, which of course, did not go unnoticed by Naruto.

"Saa. All we can do now is wait. Iruka should probably be done soon."

"Hn."

"Teme! It's really hard to keep a conversation with you if all you say is 'hn', you know that?" Naruto said with slight annoyance.

"Hn." He smirked slightly, this time on purpose.

"Argh. Fine. Be that way." Naruto growled out frustratingly, before packing all the paperwork neatly, and continuing with his work.

Sasuke didn't say anything after that. He just stood there with no expression, watching Naruto as he worked. _He really does seem like a Hokage now._

A few minutes passed in silence before there was a knock on the door. It seems Iruka had arrived.

Before Naruto could invite him in, Iruka walked into the room as if he had been invited and announced, "The clan heads are all here. Have your meeting with them. Konoha should be gathered by the time you finish the meeting. So get ready for that too. Don't keep the people waiting." Iruka lingered around for a few seconds, looking at Sasuke for a while, seeming to be thinking of something, before he left the office.

Naruto shook his head as he chuckled. He preferred if people didn't treat him with so much respect. He liked it when they behave the same way as before. Like friends.

"Let's go. Shall we?" Naruto said, standing up and starting to walk for the door.

Sasuke silently followed behind, preparing himself.

As they entered the meeting room, some looked more surprised than others. Some seemed to have expected it.

Naruto sat down on his seat at one end of the long table. True to what Iruka had said, all the clan heads had been present. Some of the Konoha 11 had become clan heads.

The Aburame clan head, Shino Aburame. Shino eventually became the clan head as the years passed, and there wasn't much of a doubt to his abilities. He stared calmly at the Uchiha, seemingly already expecting his presence. _'Must have been those bugs of his,'_ Naruto thought.

The Akimichi clan head, Choza Akimichi. Chouji was said to be inheriting the title during his nineteenth birthday. Choza looked a little infuriated, yet somewhat patient.

The Hyuuga clan head, Hinata Hyuuga. The bird cage seal had been altered by Naruto after Hinata became the clan head. Now the seal doesn't put the branch members under the seal, but it still does seal the Byakugan abilities when they die. Hinata seemed surprised at the Uchiha's presence at the sudden meeting, but she patiently waited for Naruto to start.

The Inuzuka clan head, Hana Inuzuka. Hana was growling through her fangs. Her clan was the type that honored loyalty, and hated betrayers. And Sasuke belonged to the latter category.

The Nara clan head, Shikamaru Nara. Even now, the genius was still thinking through the possible reasons of Sasuke's return to Konoha.

The Sarutobi clan head, Konohamaru Sarutobi. He had inherited the title after reaching the age of sixteen not long ago. He had matured a lot and wasn't the same childish person he was years ago. But he still respected and believed in Naruto a lot.

The Senju clan head, Tsunade Senju. Tsunade seemed to have expected Sasuke's return somehow, and was now calmly drinking sake while waiting for Naruto to start.

And the Yamanaka clan head, Ino Yamanaka. Ino just stared at Sasuke, she herself thinking of reasons why Sasuke would return.

"I have gathered you here to decide the punishment of Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto said, "So, let's start the meeting."

After the meeting ended, and Naruto dismissed the clan heads, he headed to the location where he was having a speech with Konoha. Sasuke was following behind him silently.

When they reached the venue, the villagers and shinobi had mixed and crowded the whole area. There was a lot of noise, chattering. People wondering why the Hokage would suddenly want to have a talk with all of Konoha.

All became silent as Naruto stepped onto the platform, raised above the ground so everyone could see him. But as Sasuke stepped onto platform, all noise started again.

"Villagers and Shinobi of Konoha!" Naruto shouted, gaining the attention he needed.

"Have patience. I have a reason why I assembled all of you here today." He started, "As you can see, Sasuke Uchiha is back."

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**Reviews are always welcome! :D**


	3. The Speech

**Third chapter, and it's actually a little shorter than the others...but still! Enjoy!**

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The noise level increased significantly. Chattering, whispers, jeers, cheers…all kinds of things.

_There were the ones that considered themselves uninvolved-the ones who gossiped about like just another topic of conversation…_

"I thought he vanished a few years back?"

"Weren't Hokage-sama and him enemies?"

"I wonder what would happen from now on."

_The ones that hated Sasuke, for betraying the village, for attacking Konoha…_

"Why is he back?"

"He has no right to just walk right back to the village!"

"Didn't he already betray the village?!"

_The ones that was afraid of him…_

"I hope I don't ever run into him in Konoha…"

"What if this was just his plan? What if he plans on attacking Konoha from the inside?"

"Why would he be back?"

_The ones that awaited his return, the ones that had faith in him, and the ones that loved him…_

"Finally! I told you he'd be back sooner or later!"

"I knew he would return to Konoha someday. I knew it."

"I BELIEVED IN YOU SASUKE-KUN!"

_And…his newly reformed fan club._

"Would it be okay to scream?"

"He looks so sexy!"

"KYAA! SASUKE-SAMA!"

Yes, all kinds of people. And around all these civilians, were ninjas and ANBUs hidden somewhere all around, or mixed with the crowd. This was a meeting whereby everyone in Konoha was required to attend, as requested of the Hokage.

"Silence!" Naruto commanded, and in a matter of seconds, the whole of Konoha was silent.

He cleared his throat.

"As I have just said, Sasuke Uchiha is back, and back for good. I know that some of you may hate him, some may fear him, but I can assure you that from now onwards, he will be loyal to Konoha." He pauses for a while before continuing, "Even if anything were to happen, I will protect Konoha, even if it costs my life. His punishment has already been decided. He will be personally interrogated by the best we have. During that period, he shall be imprisoned in our cells until he is deemed safe. After being released, he will then be sentenced to D-ranked missions, and will be under supervision of my ANBU commander, Hawk, until he deems Uchiha as loyal. Are there any protests?"

There came no response from the crowd. No one dared to defy the Hokage. Not because of fear of Naruto, but because of the respect that he has. No one wanted to go against his word.

"I will take that as a no then. I hope you will be able to accept him back into Konoha. If there are any complaints, you are free to make an appointment with Iruka, or well, just drop by my office."

"Sasuke, do you have anything to say?" Naruto turned towards him and whispered.

Sasuke gave a slight nod, which after, Naruto stepped aside.

He stood still for a moment, surveying the crowd which seemed to be eying him with mixed emotions, before he started, "I do not expect anyone of you to forgive me that easily, especially not those ninjas who were there to experience my betrayal first-hand." At this, his eyes looked at the shinobi he once considered as 'friends', mixed in the crowd.

Lee seemed to be trying to hold back from shouting about youthfulness and crying rivers. He always seemed to believe that Sasuke would return, even after everything.

Tenten seemed quite neutral, though a little angry.

Neji…well, let's just say that his emotionless face leaked murderous intent.

Ino had a soft smile on her face.

Shikamaru yawned, but looked alert.

Chouji was stuffing himself, but not ignorantly.

Hinata was looking very serious, and seemed to be in deep thought.

Shino's expression couldn't be seen under that high collar and those sunglasses.

Kiba looked as if he didn't want to believe anything the Uchiha said.

Sai had that superficial smile plastered on his face.

And Sakura had her lips formed into a small smile, but her eyes held sadness.

He continued, "But I hope all of you would give me another chance; another chance to be part of Konoha, another chance to be friends, another chance to be a fellow shinobi and to protect and love my village. I am no longer that same man you know from years ago, the man that betrayed Konoha, and the man that had wanted to kill all of you. Now, I am merely a man who regrets his past actions, a man who wishes to repent, and a man who wishes to return to a place where he can find love, not hatred. I am now just a man who wishes to be able to live in this place feeling love, not hatred." With that, he bowed and stepped back.

Naruto stepped forward once again, thanked the civilians and shinobi for their time and attention, and dismissed the crowd. Once almost everyone was gone, Naruto turned to face Sasuke.

Naruto smiled cheekily, extended out an arm, a hand to shake, while saying, "Welcome back to Konoha, Teme!" His eyes were filled with happiness.

Sasuke felt relieved. Really relieved. He could really, finally, return. He felt ecstatic. He could feel a smile form on his face. Though he shuddered at the thought of being interrogated by Ibiki.

Naruto's eyes widened, cheeks tinted a light shade of pink. _'Sasuke looks good while he's smiling.'_

"Good to be back." Sasuke replied, before pulling Naruto into an embrace.

He whispered into Naruto's ear, repeating himself, "It's good to be back." And he almost felt like crying tears of joy and relief.

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